David Poile, somewhat understandably, is still mad about defenseman Ryan Suter leaving the Nashville Predators.

He also believes in the team's ability to lock down captain Shea Weber long-term—though his words to that effect sound pretty similar to the way he talked about Suter. And we all know how that turned out.

“(Weber) believes in us, sees himself as the leader of our hockey club, and I think he, a lot like us, is disappointed with the outcome with Ryan,” Poile told The Tennessean. “So having said that, we have to both get back up on the horse and find a way to fill the hole and move forward. Hopefully that will be together. Right now, if you ask me, I think Shea feels that way.”

Weber is a Norris Trophy finalist and a restricted free agent, which makes him free to sign an offer sheet with any other team that the Predators could match. Poile has said that they would, indeed, take that route.

On Wednesday, after Suter signed his 13-year, $98 million deal with the Minnesota Wild, an audibly angry Poile referenced a November conversation that led him to believe Suter wanted to re-sign. In the months after that, that never came to pass, and Suter stated his desire to test the market. He eventually did just that, choosing Minnesota's cash, proximity to his home and the opportunity to play with Zach Parise over Nashville.

Leaving Weber, Poile said, was a decision that he'd "never, ever understand." On Wednesday, he also cited the Predators' culture and system; Nashville as a city; and Tennessee's tax laws as reasons Suter should've stayed, adding that he "strongly (disagreed)" with Suter's belief that Minneapolis was a better place for his family. Suter is from Wisconsin and his wife is from Bloomington, Min.

“It doesn’t go down easy," Poile said Friday. "Why should it go down easy?”